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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · pound · perch · capital · saw · chest · file · charge

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. capital — a city
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. file — a line of people
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. capital — money
  10. march — the month
  11. charge — in control
  12. saw — the tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. charge — a price
  15. charge — electricity
  16. pound — a weight
  17. file — a tool
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. saw — the tool
  21. file — a document
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com